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U2 - U2 - The Best of 1990-2000 Audio CD

A fair review of the U2 "U2 - The Best of 1990-2000" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all U2 reviews here, or go back to the U2 tabs.

U2 Band: U2
Title: U2 - The Best of 1990-2000
Rating:
Release Date: 2002-11-12
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Even Better Than The Real Thing 2: Mysterious Ways 3: Beautiful Day 4: Electrical Storm (William Orbit Mix) 5: One 6: Miss Sarajevo 7: Stay (Faraway, So Close!) 8: Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of 9: Gone (New Mix) 10: Until The End Of The World 11: The Hands That Built America (Theme From Gangs Of New York) 12: Discotheque (New Mix) 13: Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me 14: Staring At The Sun (New Mix) 15: Numb (New Mix) 16: The First Time

As usual, good stuff but it could have been better
Like their "Best of . This compilation differs from the previous one in that there are more remixes of existing songs (though the one for Elevation is surprisingly missing, while the ones that were selected add nothing new to the tracks) and more selections from soundtracks. . . 1980-90", there are songs that could've made the cut without compromising the quality of the album (i. e. The Fly, Ultraviolet, If God Will Send His Angels, Walk On) and songs that should've just been left on the scrap heap (Even Better Than The Real Thing, Mysterious Ways, Discotheque, Hold Me Thrill Me. . . ). "The First Time" is a great choice to close the album though & I had yet to hear "Miss Sarajevo" or "The Hands That Built America", both of which it turns out are excellent songs in their own right. If I could I'd give it more 3. 5 stars than 3, cause it's U2 after all.


Deeply flawed collection contains only SOME of the "hits"


Unlike '1980-1990', there is at least some fodder for the die-hard fans in the non-album track 'Hold Me, Thrill Me. After seeing what a great job was done with '1980-1990', it's hard to believe '1990-2000' could be stuffed up so badly. . . ', 'Miss Sarajevo' from the Passengers project, and two new songs. However, once again the album seems targeted primarily at the more casual U2 fan, and here is where the problems arise. U2's work in the 1990's was more experimental and less accessible than their early work, but whoever put this album together was obviously worried this would scare off the casual listeners. So the collection seems to be based on which songs sound most like old-school U2 than what is most representative of U2's actual output over this period.

The three issues I have with the album are:

1) The "two new songs" deal, which does nothing except take up space that could be used for other hits. 'Electrical Storm' is okay, but 'Hands That Built America' does nothing for me.

2) The inclusion of album tracks such as 'Gone' and 'The First Time', which again just takes up space. The former has become a live staple, so there's some justification there, but what's the excuse for 'The First Time'??

3) The ATYCLB tracks, representing a conscious back-to-basics sound, don't fit that well on an album designed to showcase U2's more experimental work. 'Beautiful Day' and 'Stuck In A Moment. . ' probably would have been better saved for a future '2000-2010' release.

So there's potentially four or five songs here that really shouldn't be, which only invites speculation as to what should have been included instead. And unlike '1980-1990', there are plenty of important songs that are missing from this collection. Leaving out 'The Fly', 'Who's Gonna Run Your Wild Horses' and 'Lemon' is unforgivable. And I'd suggest 'Mofo', 'Please' and even 'Zooropa' are much more deserving than a few tracks here.

This is not even counting the non-chronological way in which the songs are presented, nor the fact that the less accessible tracks such as 'Numb' are presented in remixes that try to make them sound as old-school U2 as possible. If you're trying to present a band's most experimental work and try to cut out the experimentation, what are you left with?

Sure, there are some good songs here; 'One', 'Mysterious Ways', 'Beautiful Day', 'Stay', 'Miss Sarajevo', 'Even Better Than The Real Thing', 'Until The End Of The World'. But in no way can this be described as an appropriate summary of the band's output from 1990-2000. It gets a low mark not because the music is poor, but because the album simply does not do what it is supposed to.

[2. 5 stars]
.


I Got Robbed !!!!
INSTEAD OF U2, I GOT DEEP PURPLE !!!
VER DISAPOINTED!!!. I GOT A DIFFERENT CD THAN THE ONE THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE.


Electrical Storm
Starting out as a minor fugue, the ocean rolls in and the early morning rain in the sound . . . . . . . . .
this is one of the most amazing songs you will ever ever hear. .


Worth it if you don't have an MP3 player
Thus, this CD presented a great opportunity for the casual U2 fan to pick up some good songs from some not-so-good albums. Back when this CD came out, digital downloads were still in their infancy. Today with the ease of buying individual songs, there is not a whole lot of reason to buy this. The CD also seems to be missing a number of the 'hits' from the time period ("The Fly" and "Who's Going to Ride Your Wild Horses" are both missing from Achtung Baby. ) It does have a few new mixes of some of the "Pop" and "Zooropa" era songs. They all tend to be fairly close to the original, so would make a good substitute for a casual fan (and not an urgent purchase for the serious fan. ) I did like most of them a little better than the original CD versions.

Some of the other non-album tracks are also yawners (with the exception of the Batman theme. ) I found it interesting they included the Passengers song, while omitting the "Mission Impossible" theme. (I guess a 'psuedonym' including all the band members trumps a couple band members using their real names. )

.


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